WORCESTER - As officials continue to work on a long-term plan to handle youth and gun violence in the city, recent shootings show the issue remains at the forefront.

Police Chief Gary J. Gemme said the 15 non-fatal shootings so far this year has left 21 people injured. There have been four killings this year, three by gun.

The city is already trending above what it saw last year at the same time. There was a record high in shootings in 2014 and now the city and police are trying to curb the trend this year. Police are continuing to see more teens involved in the violence.

The police department took a different approach this year with the Summer Impact Program, which puts more officers on the streets from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Wednesday through Sunday morning.

In the past officers taking part in the program were in cruisers, but those officers are now on the streets walking foot beats in an effort to build community relations, Gemme said.

"On a national level and even on a local level there is an anti-police sentiment and a suggestion of a break down of trust between the public and police," Gemme said.

That is just one hurdle officers are handling while trying to develop information on those who are involved in the violence and the gunfire erupting on city streets.

"Our primary emphasis with the Summer Impact Program is to work on building relationships with community," Gemme said. "If we are going to solve the issue with gun violence we need greater participation from the community."

Officers need to be approachable and out in the neighborhoods talking to people in order to gain this trust. It is an added layer the department is using to combat gun violence. The department continues to use the Street Violence Prevention Group, the Shooting Response Team, stronger inter-department information sharing and other techniques to try to handle the issue.

Calling the long-term plan by the city and unprecedented collaboration, Gemme said there is a culture where people are saying they don't want to be labeled a snitch when police are seeking help. This culture needs to change, he said.

"You hear from the victim that they are not going to cooperate and they are going to handle it themselves," Gemme said. "It makes it much more difficult in the short term for the police department to make an arrest and a case."

Gemme said investigators are seeing that the gangs in the city have no hierarchy, but what they do have is access to guns and ammunition. The gunshot detection system ShotSpotter is showing that more rounds are being fired.

"We know more ammunition is out there," Gemme said.

Last year the department made 8,124 arrests with 503 of those arrests involving people recognized as gang-involved. There were also 64 guns seized last year. Gemme said even with those numbers, the city saw a record high in gun violence in 2014.

He doesn't believe more arrests are a solution to the issue. He did say the courts have to do a better job keeping violent offenders off the streets however.

While the Worcester County District Attorney's Office has worked hard with Worcester Police, Gemme said more people involved in gun violence or arrested for gun charges need to be found dangerous by the judges.

"We need courts and judges that are going to get serious with individuals who are arrested for possession of a firearm or gun related crimes," he said. "The courts should also find people dangerous when they are arrested on gun related crimes."

Gemme added, "Is there anyone more dangerous than a known gang member or a juvenile in possession of an illegal firearm?"

Investigators continue to find people with prior arrests for guns back in the community and involved in the mayhem again, the chief said.